Concord, NH – The Joint Task Force for the response to the heroin and opioid epidemic held a public hearing, taking testimony from individuals and key stakeholders related to the crisis. The Joint Task Force also unanimously adopted the final report.
Senator Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro), Task Force Chair, issued the following statement following today’s public hearing:
“Today’s public hearing served as an emotional reminder that the heroin and opioid crisis has touched the lives of families across the state from many different walks of life. The experiences we heard served to strengthen the task force’s resolve to continue our work to expeditiously eliminate this heroin and opioid crisis using the tools and processes available to us as legislators,” said Senator Jeb Bradley.
“We’ve made significant progress in the past few weeks reviewing and vetting legislation with key stakeholders, focusing on all aspects of this crisis including prevention, interdiction, treatment, and recovery. The Senate and House will host joint public hearings on Jan. 12 on three bills marked for expedited review, followed by Senate committee votes the same day. We expect to see those bills on the Governor’s desk by the end of the month,” added Bradley.
Legislation to be heard during the joint public hearings includes:
- SB 576 – Increasing penalties for distributing fentanyl to match those for heroin, eliminating insurer’s prior authorization requirements so individuals seeking outpatient substance abuse treatment can obtain it without delay, continuing medical education relating to prescribing opioids, and stronger requirements for providers to use the prescription drug monitoring system
- SB 447 – Studying expanded distribution of Narcan
- SB 369 – Expanding alcohol and drug education in schools
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